Easier Said Than Done
by klickmaster92
Summary: Lexus trains tributes of the Hunger Games while the other girls freak out about how they look. She's never let anything distract her. And then he showed up with his cocky smirk. And that all changed. T because it's the Hunger Games.
1. Chapter 1

_You might notice that at one point in this chapter I mention Cato's eye color, and since Susanne Collins decided to withhold that information from us, I just used the first color that popped into my mind, so, if you don't like the color I give Cato's eyes, please just ignore it, and use what ever color you'd imagined in the first place._

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**Lexus POV**

My father's been a Gamemaker since before I was born. He says that he wants me to be ready for anything that might happen, so on the off-seasons of the Hunger Games, he had me trained in the large gymnasium the tributes use. After ten years, I was stronger and smarter than the tributes that passed through from districts 1, 2 , and 4, so I was admitted as a trainer, beginning with the Seventy-third Hunger Games.

My dad was promoted to Head Gamemaker this year, and I think that might be the only reason he allowed me to be a trainer this year, so that he can keep an eye on me and make sure I don't hurt myself.

One of the Avoxes at our house, Lavinia, walks into my room carrying a simple pair of jeans and a white T-shirt. Behind her is another of our Avoxes, Alexia, she carries a small tray with a brush, a box of bobby pins, and hairspray. I groan at the tray before taking the clothes from Lavinia and changing in my bathroom.

When I return, Alexia is standing in front of a swivel chair, and Lavinia is next to her, holding the chair. I slump into the chair and let them brush through my dark tangles. Lavinia begins to carefully braid my hair, starting on the top of my head, curving around my left ear, and falling over my left shoulder. Even when it's braided, my hair falls almost to my stomach.

Alexia slides a black jacket with the word _trainer_ engraved sideways in white thread next to the zipper. Alexia then applies a thin layer of gray eyeshadow, and then slides silver hoop earrings into my earlobes. Alexia checks a holographic image of what I'm supposed to look like, hands me a pair of black combat boots that I quickly put on, and scampers out of the room. I slip a leather bracelet with my name carved in the center around my wrist and follow Lavinia's bright red hair downstairs and into the foyer.

My dad adjusts the cuffs of his suit before nodding in my direction. I'm dressed much more casual than him. He has a black suit, and his hair is gelled back. He's nervous, because this is his first year as Head Gamemaker, I can tell by the way he frequently looks in the mirror and checks his watch. Eventually, one of the mahogany doors opens, I walk outside into the artificial air of the Capitol, and I'm ushered into a limo with the other trainers. My dad has a limo of his own, but I decided I didn't want to be in it this year.

The other trainers are all dressed differently, but we're all wearing the same jackets and boots that label us as trainers.

I sit in the back with the other combat trainers, most of them had trained me when I was younger.

"Hey, Lexus," One of the other trainers, Cassia, says.

"Hey," I say. My long braid bounces on my ribcage as the car hits a bump in the pavement.

"Do you know anything about this year's arena?" Cassia asks. The trainers that haven't engaged in conversation look in my direction.

"No, my dad won't tell me anything." I act like I want to know just as much as them, but honestly, I couldn't care less about the arena this year.

"What do you think of the tributes?" Caromen, another trainer asks no one in particular.

"I think the boy from District 2 is hot," Cassia says.

"I think you have brain damage," I mutter under my breath.

The vehicle slows to a stop behind the Capitol's Justice Building and we follow a Peacekeeper into the building and up a few floors to the balcony for the trainers. We're underneath the balcony that holds President Snow, my father, and a few Peacekeepers. Their balcony is much higher than ours. We'll be at eye level with the tributes, while the balcony holding the more important people stand high enough to see the entire city.

I hear cheering around the corner of the City Circle, and I see the District 1 chariot rolling around the circle. Their tributes are dressed like I thought they would be, but they have an irritating aura expanding their chariot.

The District 2 tributes enter and circle around. My seats on the end, so their chariot ends up directly in front of me. Cassia glances in my direction, and I can tell that she's jealous. The male tribute from District 2 looks at me, and I have to admit he is kind of attractive, but he's obviously aggravatingly cocky. District 2's female tribute glares at me, and I look at District 3. Out of the corner of my eyes, I see the boy from District 2 smirk, his district partner's glare still seeping through me. Slowly, the other districts file in, and I think I'm the only person in Panem who doesn't react to District 12's flaming capes.

What catches my eye about them is that they're holding hands.

Most tributes want to have as little to do with their district partner as possible, so that it will hurt less when their name appears in the sky. I have a feeling that District 12's female tribute is in her own little world, completely unaware of what's happening around her.

I let my eyes fall back on the District 2 chariot, where I see that their male tribute glance up at me, but instead of listening to his district partner, he holds my gaze. His ashy blue eyes are trying to read my emotions, but honestly, my mind is completely blank. The chariots begin to file into the training center, where the Avoxes from the trainer's homes are waiting to serve the tributes.

After the Tribute Parade is officially declared over, the colorful-haired Capitol residents, my father, and President Snow get to return to their homes. The trainers, who have to be in the Training Center gym at six, we just stay in the Training Center, on a level just below the gym.

"What was up with you and District 2?" Cassia asks while we're waiting for the elevator to return to the main floor, I look at her, my vision still slightly impaired from the fire on District 12's capes.

"What?" I ask innocently.

"Don't act like you weren't checking him out," she says.

"You really think I was checking him out?"

Cassia thinks about this for a moment, knowing that the concept of 'checking out' is completely foreign to me. "Well, he was definitely checking you out," she says with certainty.

The elevator doors open and we step in with a the rest of the trainers. In a matter of seconds, the doors open again on the trainer's floor. We each claim a room and I fall asleep with the girl from District 2's glare still piercing into me.

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_Please review and tell me what you think!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Lexus POV**

The tributes from District 1, 2, and 4 quickly assemble by the weapons station, which I've been 'lucky' enough to have been assigned to. I took the time to learn the tributes' names before I came to the gym, but that doesn't make them any more recognizable. The only names that really stuck in my head were Glimmer, the girl from 1, Clove, the girl from 2, Cato, the boy from 2, Rue, the girl from 11, and Katniss, the girl from 12, and Peeta, the boy from 12.

Cassia, who was also assigned to the weaponry station, introduces herself in her bubbly way before looking at me. I roll my eyes, which she takes to mean that she can introduce me, too. She says my name, then watches Cato for a few seconds. Glimmer looks at me with envy, Clove glares at me, and Cato tries to make it seem like he couldn't care less about me.

Glimmer grabs a bow and a quiver of arrows, and I notice Katniss looking wistful at the bow from the knot tying station, Clove takes an array of knives, and Cato picks up a sword with a curved blade.

Cassia's helping Glimmer with the bow, she's clearly never used one before, and Cato and Clove seem to know what they're doing. I watch as Glimmer almost kills Cassia with an arrow. She stumbles back and sits next to me.

"Your turn," she says.

I smirk before standing up and walking over to Glimmer.

"How do you get your eyes to look like that?" She asks me, putting the bow down.

"Like what?"

"How do you get them to, to glow like that?"

"To glow like what?"

"Like, like," I glance at Cato while she tries to think of the right word. "Like that!" She almost screeches.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I look back at her. "Pick up the bow and shoot,"

"Where?"

"Straight,"

Glimmer picks up the bow and aims at a target, I try to keep myself from laughing when she shoots the target three dummies down the line. She stamps her foot in frustration before throwing the weapons down and slashes a dummy with a knife angrily.

I walk back over to where Cassia sits, correcting a small boy from District 9 with a sword. When I sit next to her, she looks from me to Cato.

"What?" I ask her when the boy from District 9 gives up and walks away.

"Nothing," She says, trying hard to hide a smile.

"You do know how stupid you're being, right?"

"Yeah, I know, I'm just imagining how cute you two would be together,"

"Cute? Me and Soon-to-be-Dead-Boy?"

"Yeah, besides, he's got pretty good chances of winning."

"Please," I say, watching him demolish a dummy, "he won't last a week."

"Are you willing to bet on that?"

"I don't bet on the Games." I stand to replace the dummy.

"You know," Cato says while I'm bringing in a new dummy, "acting like I don't exist just makes it harder to not fall in love with me,"

I blow a loose strand of hair out of my eyes and watch him destroy the dummy. I replace it, and in a matter of seconds he's destroyed that one too. He tenses up when Katniss and Peeta are within ten feet of him.

Cassia quickly hops up and teaches them a little bit about spear throwing, forcing me to stay by Cato.

"Why do I sense hatred here?" I ask him.

"I'm not a fan of District 12," He tries to distract himself from the inevitable fact that Peeta is stronger than him. I don't know if he notices, but Peeta's intimidated by him.

"Why, you think one of them can beat you?"

"Do you?"

"Maybe,"

Cato tenses up again when Katniss pierces a dummy in the chest. I can see how much Katniss wants to get her hands on the bow, but when Glimmer sees her gaze, she reclaims them, trying to avoid shooting until Katniss isn't looking.

"Did you know her before the reaping?" I nod toward Clove, who's still throwing knives with deadly accuracy.

"Yeah,"

"She's a lot more focused than you,"

"Maybe, she's confusing."

_I guess that runs in District 2, _I think, looking into Cato's almost gray eyes for half a second.

Cato down two inches at me, "Almost as confusing as you," he destroys the dummy I put in front of him.

"I'm not that confusing," I say before replacing it. "Eventually, I might not have more dummies for you to kill."

"Right, because the Capitol has a shortage on anything," I can tell that he slightly resents the Capitol, because while District 2 is one of most people's favorite districts, they don't have life that well.

"We're not all Hunger Games addicts, and we don't all have pink hair. And it's not like District 2 has a shortage on bloodthirsty killers." I try not to sound too defensive for the Capitol, because honestly, I can't stand them. Most of them _are_ Hunger Games addicts, and most of them _do _have pink or green or bright orange hair, and I hate them.

"We're not all bloodthirsty killers," Cato says in a semi-mocking tone.

"But you are,"

"Very true,"

I quickly remind myself that he'll be dead in a week. But what if he isn't? No, I can't think like that. I mentally slap myself before I can confuse myself any further.

After a few more dummy replacements, Katniss and Peeta have left, and Cato quickly attacks the dummies with spears. I go back towards the wall and lay on the floor with my knees bent up. I lean my head back and stare at the nets on the ceiling. A small figure seems to be crawling through them, I prop myself up on the mats and see Rue looking down at me.

I look over to the Gamemaker's balcony and see my dad watching me, then Cato, then Rue. When he sees me watching, he quickly looks away, knowing I hate being watched.

Cassia sprawls on the mat next to me, exhausted from her last round of archery with Glimmer.

"You can't honestly say you don't think he's hot."

"I can honestly say I don't think he's hot." I say that just to annoy her, and I sincerely hope that she can't tell that I'm lying. I sincerely hope the _I_ can't tell that I'm lying.

Cassia groans, "Why can't you just admit it?"

Before I can respond, we're dismissed to lunch. The tributes eat in a room off to the side of the gym, and the trainers eat with the Gamemakers, though they never really stop eating. The steps to the balcony are concealed behind a wall, so that the tributes don't get any ideas. I see Rue scuttle down and follow the trail of tributes.

Once we're in the balcony (I think it might have been faster to climb), my dad waves me over. I grab an already prepared plate of food and sit down next to him.

"So what do you think of this year's tributes?"

"I think most of them are gonna put up a fight." Cato instantly comes to mind. "Why does my opinion suddenly matter?"

"I'm just curious."

Something tells me that he's going into protective dad mode, and that he senses some sort of glow, kind of like Glimmer.

And thinking of Glimmer makes me think of Cato.

And thinking of Cato makes me want to die.

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_I think that two chapters that are both over 1,000 words in two nights deserves a review...so feel free to type something into that little box below this note. Thanks!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Hello, fanfiction members and guests... and my email do not agree on how many reviews I have, so if you reviewed and I don't respond to it, thank you, and if you didn't...the end of this chapter is a great opportunity. Also, sorry this chapter took longer than the others, I had to really think about this one. __  
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_Brittanie- Thanks!  
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_EGilly- Thanks, and I'm not entirely sure how to explain what Glimmer meant...  
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_writer with no words- Thank you!  
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_Phoenix Retribution- Thanks, Lexus isn't gonna be a Mary Sue, and I don't really have much of a storyline...  
_

_Falchion- That review was a little long for my taste, but really helpful, thanks...  
_

**Cato** **POV**

Clove hates her. Glimmer admires her. Marvel hasn't really noticed her. And I'm hopelessly in love with her.

I'm curious how I fell in love with her. She's the exact opposite of who my parents would have wanted me to fall for, my little brothers would just be confused about the whole thing, and my older sister, I don't actually know what my older sister would think of the whole thing. I almost smile at the thought of my family, and my district, and how much they'll all love me when I return as victor.

Victor of the 74th Hunger Games.

The idea bounces around in my head as I step out of the elevator and into the Training Center gym for the second day of training. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see one of the weapons trainers (I think her name's Cassia) laughing at Lexus, who has her eyes trained on the Gamemaker's balcony.

Clove follows my gaze and glares at the air above Lexus' head as we make our way to Atala's podium, where Glimmer and Marvel have already assembled. Marvel and Clove engage in a conversation about the other tributes.

"You don't seem like the kind of guy to fall in love so easily," Glimmer says after watching me for a few seconds.

"That's 'cause I'm not," I try to deny what I can tell Glimmer's already sure of.

"Right, because you haven't thought about Lexus once since the Tribute Parade." She says sarcastically. I don't have anything to say back to her, and she smiles at her small victory.

The other tributes slowly pour into the gymnasium, and then training begins. Marvel and Glimmer eagerly go to the weaponry, the District 4 tributes, too. But Clove is a bit wary about going near Lexus. After walking in a circle around the gym, Clove agrees that the weaponry station is the only useful one, and starts throwing knives around. Lexus does everything in her power to ignore me for the first few minutes, before giving up..

"She's _so_ in love with you," Glimmer says while picking up the bow and arrows.

"Your point?" I ask her.

"Please," she groans, "you boys are so ignorant," she says before going to the archery range.

I grab a sword and find an unclaimed dummy that I destroy in a matter of minutes. Lexus quickly comes in my direction and replaces it. She watches me as I demolish it, she replaces it six times before she even opens her mouth.

Only to correct me.

Three more dummies pass before I break the awkward silence that has settled between us.

"Your dad's Head Gamemaker," I slash at the dummy.

"Yeah, why is that important."

"Is he always watching you like that?" I nod toward the Gamemaker's balcony. She nervously looks at her father before looking back at me.

"No, he just doesn't want me to get hurt,"

I can tell she's not telling me something, but I don't ask what it is.

"What does your mom do?"

"I don't know where my mom is." She says, tensing up a bit. I feel kind of bad for her, which is not an emotion I'm used to. She kind of smiles, probably remembering something about her mother.

"You should smile more,"

"What?" She looks at me with an almost confused manner. Almost like she still hasn't given up on convincing herself that she isn't in love with me.

I find myself unable to break away from her stare. Her light brown eyes are specked with orange, creating an inferno that seems to have trapped me.

After a few seconds, though it seems like eternity, she looks down at the blade, signaling that I should continue destroying the Capitol's dummies. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Clove's agitation in the way that she throws her knives.

I've known her since my first day of training, when I was eight years old. She had the best aim of of the entire crowd of us on that first day. She's become sort of like a little sister to me, and we hadn't really talked about the possible other side to our relationship until the day on the train to the Capitol.

"Why did you volunteer?" She had screamed at me once we were concealed from the cameras. Tears had spilled over her lashes, and I knew something was seriously wrong, because Clove doesn't cry.

"It's my last year that I'm eligible, I didn't have a choice." I had almost yelled at her.

"What's gonna happen in the arena? Only one of us can win, Cato, and it might not even _be _one of us." I hadn't ever considered the possibility that I might lose until then, of course, I had thought about Clove being victor, but I didn't really consider that as a loss, since she's from my district.

"Why wouldn't it be one of us, Clove? We've trained for this for ten years, we have an advantage, one of us is going to win,"

"But, I don't want one of us to die,"

I was completely confused then. Clove never really seemed like the kind of girl to weaken at the possible death of her training partner. I had wondered then if she ever considered me more than a training partner, as more than a friend, but by the time I thought I had figured it out, she had stormed out of the room, and disappeared for the rest of the night.

She had seemed so weak that day, but now, her anger, frustration, and jealousy are all hurdling toward me and Lexus almost as fast as she throws a knife. I continue slashing at the dummies, doing the best I can to ignore the trainer with the long dark braid who keeps replacing them.

I was right yesterday, ignoring does make it harder not to fall in love.

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_Sorry this update took so long, I kept getting stuck with Cato's POV, but I felt like he deserved a chapter (there will be more in the future), so please review, I gladly accept constructive criticism, but please be gentle..._

_I'll try to update as fast as possible, but I have a SYOT that I'm working on (76th Hunger Games, tribute submission deadline: Sept.16, please submit) so it might be a bit delayed due to SYOT reapings, or reading tribute forms, and stuff like that...  
_


	4. Chapter 4

_Hello! I am writing this while listening to Songs From District 12 and Beyond, so there might be some accidental references to songs from the soundtrack...if you get it...you win a virtual goldfish! Just kidding, I don't have any virtual goldfish...sorry if I got your hopes up. _

**Lexus POV**

I can't stop thinking about him. His tangled dirty blond hair, his devious smirk, the way his ashy blue eyes light up when he sees the wall of weapons in the training center. He seemed honestly sorry when I told him about my missing mother.

All I know about her is the she ran away from the Capitol, to join some rebellion she had heard about with my sister, Millenia. I have faint memories of both of them, sweet smiles, warm embraces, scolding, small things like that.

But tonight, I can't rid any of the three of them out of my mind. Cato, my mother, and Millenia keep winding there way into my thoughts. I toss and turn in the fancy, comfortable, Capitol bed, unable to sleep. Eventually, I give up trying, and go to the only place I've ever really been able to relax, because it's the one place no one's ever watching.

The roof.

The elevator doors silently slide open on the twelfth floor, I could've gone directly to the roof, but I like the stairs, just not thirteen floors of them. I can just barely see a strand of bright red hair watching me in the darkness. I flash Lavinia a smile before disappearing up the staircase. I push the door open quietly and slip out into the cool night air of the Capitol. His back is to me, but he hears the door click shut behind me. I silently curse myself as he turns to face me.

His hair shines in the dim moonlight, and his eyes seem black in the faded light. I can't help but utter a low, unintelligible noise as he smirks.

"Couldn't stand to be away from me any longer?" He says in his cocky tone.

"No, I couldn't sleep," I make my way over to him, he's sitting in the garden, probably because he thinks somebody's watching or listening to him. The plants and the wind chimes offer cover for anything he might do or say.

"Close enough,"

I smirk, sitting next to him.

"I couldn't sleep either," he says.

"Why?" I ask, as if I don't know the answer.

"Well, I don't know, I might not live to be nineteen, I might be killed in some tragic way an hour before my birthday,"

"You're gonna be in the arena on your birthday?"

"Yeah," he says. I'm amazed at how open he is at discussing the topic that he might be slaughtered on his birthday. Then I think about the conversations I've overheard of his and Clove's. They've never discussed anything like this in my presence, or when I had to watch them through the security cameras (I really hated that job).

Cato seems much different now than when he's in the Training Center gym. Or when he was in that chariot dressed as a gladiator.

He's just full of surprises like that.

Just one more thing I can't help loving about him.

He rests his head against the pebbly ground of the garden.

"I've been training for this my whole life," he starts.

"Illegally," I add.

"Yeah, and now I don't know if it was really worth it. I mean, what if I don't win?" He asks me.

I lay next to him with my head against his chest, the thump of his heartbeat soothes me.

"I don't know," I say. He wraps his arm around my shoulders.

"Winning the Games has been all I've ever been able to dream for, all I've ever been allowed to want is a victor's crown. But I didn't realize until now that that's the kind of thing that's easier said than done. I didn't realize that there was more than just swords, and spears, and knives in this world, until I came here."

"That's all that matters in the Capitol, too,"

"Is that all that you care about?" He asks me.

"No, I hate the Games."

"Then why are you a trainer for them?"

"Because for one week every year, I get to go to the other Districts, I get to learn what people are really like."

"There are people here," he says, urging me to continue.

"But most of these people have had so much work done they don't feel real to me, I feel like I'm trapped in Candy Land."

"Is that why your mom left?"

"She left because she wanted to join some rebellion. She took my sister with her, and I have almost no memories of either of them. I'm gonna find them someday, though, if they're still alive." I sit up abruptly, and Cato kind of laughs.

"What?" I look down at him.

He sits up and gently presses his lips to mine. I'm slightly aware of my arms wrapping around his neck, and his protectively wrapping around my waist.

After what could have been eternity, I pull away, and stare into his eyes for about ten seconds.

"I just broke every trainer rule in history," I mutter.

Honestly, I don't care about the rules, I don't want to admit to myself that I'm in love with him and then watch my father kill him.

I want to stay up here with him forever, concealed in plants and wind chimes, I never want to leave.

"You need to sleep," I say.

He nods, "So do you,"

After a few more minutes of staring at the sky, he stands and pulls me up with him. He kisses me again, and then steps into the elevator and leaves the roof. I take the elevator back to my floor, deep underground, and fall asleep with a smile on my face.

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_Two chapters in one night deserves a review from everybody...so please write something in the box underneath this, because I worked really hard on fanfics today..._


	5. Chapter 5

_Hello! I'm sorry this chapter took so long to update...Anyway! Here are my responses to your reviews!  
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_tori.m- thanks, and I just got over writer's block, so that virtual wish gets you a virtual cupcake! YAY!  
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_Falchion- thanks for the constructive criticism...and I like your guest review name by the way...  
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_Brittebre1225- Thanks for the review, and there's a form for the SYOT in the first chapter, just submit a review with the information on the SYOT form...  
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_Imagine-Thanks for the reviews!_

**Cato POV  
**

I couldn't help myself. Her hair was shining and her eyes were glittering. One moment I was laying on the cement on the roof, the next I was kissing her. I was falling even deeper in-

"CATO!" Clove screeches from the other side of the door, interrupting my thoughts. I can tell she's angry. When I don't respond, she starts banging on the door. For such a small person, she can hit hard. I open the door and she pulls her hand back quickly.

"Can I help you?" I ask her. She glares at me.

"Hurry up, I don't wanna be late for our last day of training," she taps her foot against the wooden floor in urgency.

I groan, "Okay, whatever," I shoo her and close the door.

After about three minutes, I come out of the room and make my way to the dining area, grab a roll, and walk to the elevator.

Clove's standing next to the elevator doors, impatiently waiting. "That took long enough," she says. I ignore her and step into the elevator. She follows and watches our escort bounce into the contraption with us.

Marvel and Glimmer are already in the gym, so are District 5, 8, 11, and 12. Katniss watches us enter, Peeta doing everything he can to ignore us. I look across the room to Lexus, who is staring back at me. She smiles a little bit, and the inferno from the orange in her eyes burns a bit brighter. She holds my gaze for a few seconds before turning to Cassia to talk about something.

Lexus' hair is braided over her left shoulder. She cut her hair before she came to the Training Center gym today, so the braid is about three inches shorter. Clove sees me watching her and tries to pull me into whatever conversation she and Marvel and Glimmer have started.

"Are you gonna miss this place?" She asks me. Glimmer looks at me, trying to read my thoughts.

"Why would I?"

"Because," Clove starts to explain, but decides against it, "never mind."

Glimmer sighs, looking at me as if she actually can read my thoughts, which I am really not okay with.

Marvel breaks the awkward silence that has settled between us, "I think we should get Thresh,"

"What do you mean by that?" Clove asks.

"I think we should get him in our alliance."

"Oh," Clove says. They all look at me. They see me as kind of the leader of the group, since I'm more skilled than all of them.

"You want me to do it?" I ask them. Glimmer nods, and nudges me in the arm.

"Fine," I grumble, before walking over to the District 11 tributes.

"Thresh," the little girl from 11 says to Thresh, "I think it's a good idea, she's-" the little girl stops talking when she sees me. She takes a step back, even though I'm not allowed to hurt her yet.

"What do you want?" Thresh asks. His voice is intimidatingly deep.

"We want you," I say in a low tone, so that only he and I can hear.

"Who wants me,"

"Me, Marvel, Glimmer, Clove,-" just before I can get to District 4, he interrupts me.

"I don't want any part in whatever alliance you have, if I'm gonna play the Games, I'm gonna be alone."

"Have it your way, and don't expect us to go easy on you when the time comes," I glare at them both before turning and walking away.

"So," Glimmer asks, a bit too excited, "is he gonna join us?"

She can tell without me responding that the answer is no. After the rest of the tributes have entered the gym, we're released for our last day of training.

Clove, Glimmer, Marvel, and I make our way to the weaponry station. They're all itching to get their hands on the weapons, because there is no guarantee which of them will be in the arena. The tributes from Districts 5 and 7 are following us, trying to learn from our movements.

Cassia jumps up to help 5 and 7, and Lexus slowly walks around each of us. She gives Glimmer a piece of advice with the bow, and then she just watches as Clove throws her knives perfectly every time. When she gets to me, she replaces the dummy I've most recently destroyed and watches as I destroy that.

"You really can't stay away from me, can you?" I ask her.

She smirks, "I could," she says something that's just above a whisper, "if I tried hard enough."

"Sorry, I didn't catch that last part," I say, even though it's fairly obvious that I did.

"That's because you weren't supposed to, Cato,"

She doesn't say anything else, she just watches me until I go to throw spears. I look over to Katniss, who is looking at me, trying to figure out what I'm doing that gives me perfect aim with the spears. I glare at her, and she quickly looks back to the fire that's starting under her fingers.

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The food in District 2 is better than the food i the Capitol. I miss District 2, I haven't ever missed anything, and now the guilt and fear that I feel for volunteering hits me hard.

"I'm not really hungry," I say to Enobaria before leaving the table. Clove follows me out of the room and into the hallway with our rooms. She just watches me with her arms crossed over her ribs, expecting an answer to an unasked question.

"What?" I ask her.

"What's going on with you?" She responds with a question.

"What are you talking about?"

"You're always hungry Cato. So what's going on?"

"I'm not always hungry, I can always eat, there's a difference Clove. And why do you care? You're gonna want me dead in two weeks."

"Cato, I don't want you dead, that doesn't mean I'm not gonna kill you. But I know you well enough to know that something's wrong. So you're gonna tell me what it is."

"I don't think so," I try to walk into my room, but she steps in front of it.

"Is it about that trainer girl?" She asks, she really does know me better than I thought.

"Her name's Lexus, and how obvious is it?"

"Not really obvious at all, you know. I probably wouldn't have known if I didn't see you two kissing last night." She looks up at my eyes, "Cato, be careful, one wrong move and you could get both of you killed,"

"I've already pretty much given myself a death sentence."

"Please, you're gonna be the victor, we all know it." The strange thing about this is that she's okay with it. She's always been a fighter, and I know that when it comes down to it, she's going to put up a fight, but right now, she's completely content with me winning.

"Okay, so can you please get out of my way now?"

"Nope," she smirks her devious smirk. She's kind of attractive when she does that, but then Lexus pops into my thoughts, but then I'm just confusing myself.

"What else do you have to say, Clove? And do I have to listen?"

"Cato, promise that you'll be careful."

"I'm not promising-,"

"Promise, Cato,"

"Okay, whatever, I promise."

"Thank you," Clove steps under my arm and disappears into her room. I open the door and fall on the bed. A wave of fear hits me as I imagine all the ways somebody might kill me in the arena. I'm not looking forward to my death, and I think I'm the only person who thinks it might actually happen in the next two weeks.

The air in the room becomes thick and I feel like I can barely breath. By the time I leave my room, everyone else on the floor has gone to sleep. I quietly walk to the elevator and press the button that takes me to the roof.

Lexus turns as soon as the doors slide open. She looks to beautiful to be real. I walk over to where she is and sit in the middle of the garden with her.

"You really can't stand to be away from me can you?" She imitates what I'd said earlier that day. I wrap my arm around her shoulder and she leans her head against mine.

"I really can't," I respond, she looks a bit surprised. For just a moment the fire in her eyes dims, but then it starts burning brightly again. I lean down and kiss her, she takes a second to react, but when she does, she wraps her arms around my neck like she did the night before, and then I pull her closer to me.

After a few seconds, she pulls away and stares into my eyes. The orange specks in her's are burning brighter than I've ever seen them. The fire has mesmerized me, freezing me in place. She looks to the stairs, where a door is starting to open.

Of all the people who could have walked onto that roof, it just _had _to be Cassia. She steps out and stares at Lexus before a large smile spreads across her face.

"I knew it!" She whispers when she gets into the garden.

"Cassia-," Lexus starts.

"I know, I know, if I tell anybody about this you'll kill me." Cassia finishes for her.

"Glad I don't have to explain," Lexus stands up, "You know what, I'm tired, so I'll see you all...later," Lexus quickly disappears in the elevator. I stand and make my way to the second floor.

And I swear I see Clove's eyes watching me in the darkness.

* * *

_Yay! That's my biggest chapter so far! I'm sorry that this took so long, I was just having trouble with a lot of factors in this chapter. Thanks for being so patient with me, and I hope that I'll have the next chapter up sooner._**  
**

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	6. Chapter 6

_Sorry fanfiction readers! I've recently been extremely backed up on homework, and I haven't had much free time. I'm sorry that Lexus has slightly orange eyes, but it's fiction, so I don't really give a crap about genetics right now. I'm sorry if this seems alike I'm being mean, but I'm kind of tired of the reviews explaining how orange eyes result in blindness. I've gotten a few too many. So, for those of you who are still with me at this point in this story, thank you, and I'll try to be better about updates now. Anyway, I've already made you wait long enough for this chapter..._

**Lexus POV  
**

I potentially get one more night on the roof with Cato. Then, I may never see him again. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about that possibility. True, his odds of winning are pretty good, but in the arena he's just one in twenty-four potential Victors.

I don't want him to lose, but for his future sake, I don't really want him to win either. Nobody really knows what happens to the Victors after the Games. But somehow they always do _something _wrong in the arena, and so then it's the trainers jobs to abduct everyone they care about. We don't know what happens to them after that, but I don't think it's good.

I hope it's not worse than the fate twenty-three tributes face in an arena every year. Though I don't think anything is much worse than that.

Well, maybe watching everyone you love get taken from you to who-knows-where and most likely slaughtered or turned into Avoxes to wait on future tributes until the day they die.

Yeah, I think that's worse.

* * *

The sun shines brightly into wherever I am, which makes no sense seeing as I'm underground. I look to the image of sunlight projected on the wall above my head and sigh at the artificiality of everything. I get out of bed and shower. After my trainer's uniform is on and my hair is braided over my left shoulder, I venture into the well-lit hallway and into the elevator. Cassia joins me quietly. Part of me wonders if she somehow miraculously forgot about what she saw last night.

"I _knew _you liked Cato." She says, and every trace of hope I have disappears.

"Didn't I tell you to shut up about it, Cassia?" I ask her, the edge in my voice momentarily shuts her up.

By the time she would have spoken again, the elevator doors have opened to the Training Center Gym. All we really have to do is make sure the tributes don't kill themselves with whatever it is they show the Gamemakers.

And of course, I had to watch Districts 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Really, private training isn't that interesting. After our shifts at the Gym, we are required to go to this party for all of the trainers. They have a disco ball in the center of the room, and it has a different theme every year, usually slightly corresponding with the year's arena.

This year's wall is surrounded in trees. That's the only lead on the arena that the trainers get.

Cassia pulls me out of a daze and into a conversation with a few other trainers. She has a clear cup with some red liquid that I'm not eager to try in her hand.

"So, what do you think the trees mean? Sephia thinks it means that the arena's gonna be a forest, and I think it's gonna be a desert."

"How exactly do you get that?" I ask her, trying to seem like I care.

"I don't know, but why wouldn't they steer us all in the wrong direction? That would keep us talking for days about it."

I glance at Sephia, who looks just as confused as I feel, before I begin to ignore them both.

After a few hours, Caesar Flickerman passes us and stops at the couch I'm now sitting on.

"You're Seneca Crane's daughter, right?" He asks me. I nod. "I was just talking to your father, he said that he wanted to see you."

"Okay, thanks." Caesar walks away, and for a moment I just sit there, trying to figure out what my dad could need that's so urgent. I consider ignoring the request, but anything would be more interesting than my surroundings, so I find the door and leave unnoticed.

"Lexus," I hear a voice behind me. I turn and see my dad standing awkwardly among the straggling trainers.

"Yeah," I follow him to a staircase. I make a mental note that there are no security cameras here.

_There are no security cameras in here._

That means that whatever he wants to tell me, it isn't good. And it will most likely result in trouble.

"Lexus," he says, kind of awkwardly.

"Yeah," I look at him, hoping to make whatever he's about to say worse.

"Do you know if you've ever sleepwalked in the past?"

Wow. That's a weird question. And seeing as how I've never sleepwalked in my life, I have to answer yes if I want to live much longer.

"Yeah, I think so," I say, hoping that I'm convincing enough. "I mean, I wake up in the kitchen some days."

"You do?" My father asks me this as if he can see right through my lies.

"Yeah, really early, so then I just go back upstairs and try to go back to sleep."

"Oh, okay."

"Why?" I ask him, and my question catches him off guard.

"What?" He seems confused by me asking questions. I don't ask questions very often around him.

"Why does it matter if I sleepwalk?"

"Oh," he glances around to confirm that there are no security cameras here, "Atala thought that she'd seen you walking around the trainer floor last night, she was just curious as to what was going on."

"Okay," I hop up the stairs two at a time as if I can't wait to get back to the trainer's party.

Like I have any interest in going back there.

I talk to a few people standing outside the doors of the party because there isn't much room left in the area. I see my father walking away out of the corner of my eye. I try to seem like I'm listening intently to what I'm being told about the food, or something like that.

I find a way to get out of the ring of people around me and back toward the staircase.

I spend about five minutes getting to the Gym and up onto the Gamemaker's balcony. I sit on one of the couches and look at the floor below me. I could be sitting here doing this for all of my life. I could be gauging a never ending pool of tributes' chances in a death ring.

_I can see why my mother left._

I would gladly follow in her footsteps if I could think of any way she's still alive. The chances are less than the odds of Cato dying in two weeks. Stupid Cato. Stupid mind-twisting, unpredictably irresistible Cato.

I mentally smack myself. I know that I'm not supposed to be thinking things like this, according to my own rules, and the rules I agreed to follow as a trainer.

I almost laugh, but my thoughts are interrupted, and I barely have time to jump behind the couch before Clove's angry voice fills the gym. I look over the edge of the furniture and see Clove and Cato entering the gym mid-arguement.

"Cato, seriously, she's gonna get you killed!"

"I'm about to get myself killed anyway," Cato responds, "So why should I care?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because you care about _her_!"

Cato tenses, he turns around to face his district partner.

"Why do you care? What does any of this have to do with you?" His voice level is elevating, and Clove shrinks back a little and tries to calm him down.

"Cato, do you want her to get hurt?" I'm amazed by how calm she seems.

"No, but she can take care of herself."

"Well, you have to be just as careful as she does, and honestly, do you think she's eager to watch you die?"

"I don't see why not, I mean, it would be an entertaining fight."

Clove crosses her arms and looks at him like he's insane.

"What? The only people who could take me out would be Thresh, maybe that girl from 12, and you."

"But I'm not gonna kill you." Clove says this calmly, almost as if she's giving death a hug. I have to respect how accepting she is about her death. She's not going to go down without a fight, but I'm amazed that she's willing to die at the hands of a boy she's known all her life. Clove turns around and walks out of the gym, leaving Cato to decipher her words.

Cato looks up at the balcony when I stand. He just stares at me until I disappear into the stairs leading to the mats.

"Do you know what just happened?" He asks me when I'm standing in front of him.

"Uh, Clove thinks that I'm gonna get you killed or that you're gonna get me killed, and she's perfectly okay with dying as long as you win."

"Oh," He looks down at the floor like he feels stupid.

"Cato, you know how the Games work."

"I don't want to."

"Do you still want to win?"

"Yeah, I guess. I don't know. I guess that if Clove wins, then I'm okay with dying, but-"

"I'm not."

He looks at me, straight into my eyes.

I stare at him until his feet shift awkwardly and he looks at the mat beneath his feet.

"Lexus, do you want me to win?"

"Yeah," I nervously twist my leather bracelet around my wrist. I look up to see him staring at my fidgety hands. "What?"

"What is that?"

"It's something my mom gave me, the day before she left." He watches me untie it and hold it in my palm for a moment. I take one of his hands and place the small piece of leather in it.

He seems confused with what he's supposed to do with the bracelet.

I look up into his ashy blue eyes and whisper, "I'm gonna want that back in two weeks."

He leans his forehead against mine, "You'll get it back," he wraps a hand around my neck and pulls me into a kiss.

"Promise?"

"Why not," he kisses me again, keeping one of his hands on my neck, the other pulling me closer on the small of my back. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull away.

I lean my forehead against his. "I should probably go back to my mandatory trainer routines."

Cato smirks at the word 'mandatory.' He takes a step back, turns, and starts walking back the way he came in.

"Cato," I say, he turns and looks at me, "I'll see you in a few weeks."

"I hope so," he says, then he continues walking towards the door. I go back to the elevator and then to the trainer's floor. Most of the trainers are lingering around their doors, talking to each other, so they don't notice when I walk past them and into my room.

I collapse on the bed and hope the the empty feeling on my wrist is only going to be temporary.


	7. Chapter 7

_So...Chapter Seven! YAY! That took a long time. I'm really sorry for the delay, but I've got a lot going on right now (plus my parents decided that I get an hour of computer time on weeknights), and I just needed to take a break. Again, I'm really sorry about making you guys wait. Thank you for staying with me on this story, I know that my time management sucks, but I'm doing my best.  
_

**Cato POV**

An eleven. She got a freaking eleven. I don't even know how that's possible. So what if I got a ten? I got outscored. By a weak, useless girl. She might be able to do whatever it is that got her an eleven (which _had_ to involve a weapon), but how likely is it that she's going to eagerly kill somebody? I don't really want to, but I will, because I have a reason. I volunteered to keep Clove alive. She was my incentive to get to the final two. And then Lexus just _had _to come along and give me a reason to win.

Her bracelet feels much heavier than it is in my pocket. In the past few hours, I've developed a habit of reaching into my pocket and rubbing it between my fingers, just to remind myself that it's there.

I'm doing that now, as Glimmer is prancing up the steps onto the stage. I look up at the screen playing the interviews with Caesar Flickerman. Of course, Glimmer's in the shortest, shiniest dress I've ever seen. I'm not objecting or anything, but my dad would hit me if he knew I was seeing this. He thinks that girls are a distraction from my training. At this point, I don't think it really matters, since I'm a night away from the arena, but he would probably find some way to get me to stop watching TV and start identifying swords again. Wow, my childhood was screwed up.

Marvel and Glimmer switch places on stage, and I start to zone out_. _Marvel's life doesn't interest me any more than that kid from 5. I'll forget about him as soon as I kill him. I plan to kill Marvel as soon as he kills Glimmer, because, yeah, Glimmer's annoying, but she's got a life to go back to. A real one. She has a boyfriend, and an entourage, and enough money to last someone in District 2 three lifetimes.

I can't kill someone with that much. Of course, I probably will anyway. I bet little 11 has a ton of friends. She seems like a sweet girl.

I mentally slap myself. If I'm going to win these Games, then I have to think like every moment left is in the arena. And if I'm going to do that, then I need to forget about how human everyone around me is. I need to forget how many people are probably cheering them on. And by that point, it won't be that hard.

By the time I snap myself from my thoughts, I've missed Clove's entire interview. A stagehand with green hair leads me to the stage and releases me to the roar of applause from the Capitol.

My eyes immediately find Lexus in the front row. She's in a pair of jeans, white T-shirt, and a black jacket. Seeing her makes my hand slip into my pocket and rub her bracelet in between my fingers.

"Cato, Cato, Cato, Cato," Caesar says as I sit down. "You're such a mysterious young man."

I swear Lexus smirks.

Caesar continues, "I'm sure a lot of people are eager to know what you're really like."

Yep, she's smirking.

"Okay," Caesar says, "Do you have any friends you're planning to see in a few weeks?"

"Not really," I look at Lexus, who is staring at me, "I have a few acquaintances, if that counts."

"Ah, and do you have a girlfriend? A lot of these Capitol ladies want to know."

The entire place (including Lexus) laughs at that.

"Um," I stare at Lexus. I don't know what she would be considered as. Relationships are so complicating. "Not exactly."

"What might that mean?"

"That would mean that I don't have a girlfriend, but I've got options. If you know what I mean."

Lexus almost smiles at that.

"Ah, well, on a completely unrelated topic, you seem to be taking lead of an alliance this year, how has that worked?"

"I'm a natural leader, and apparently, it's obvious."

There's another smirk from the girl in the leather jacket.

"Fair enough, what's your arena strategy? Or is that a secret?"

"You'll find out soon enough, and when you're giving me my victor's interview, then I'll tell you. Maybe."

"Well, I can't wait until then, good luck Cato."

A green-haired stagehand beckons for me from offstage. I walk off stage and enter the elevator, letting the doors close. A screen in the elevator plays the District 3 girl's interview. The elevator doors open on the second floor.

Clove, both of our stylists, Enobaria, Brutus, and our escort are all watching the rest of the interviews, but I'm not really in the mood for that, so I just walk to my room and collapse on the bed.

"Well, somebody's tired," a familiar voice hums from the door. I sit up and see Clove leaning against the door frame.

"Eh,"

Clove enters the room and sits on the edge of the bed.

"So, you 'don't exactly' have a girlfriend? Care to elaborate?"

"No, I do not care to elaborate."

"You've got 'options.'" Clove continues mocking me, "What does that mean?"

"Uh, it means that my love-life is none of your business."

"Oh, now you're getting protective."

"What, if I may ask, are you talking about?"

"Lexus."

I raise an eyebrow at her.

She sighs, "Lexus. She's not your girlfriend, technically, but she's not just a friend either, so what is she?"

I groan, "You know, I might know the answer to that if you would give me any time to think about it." I throw a pillow at her, and she stands up.

"Okay, you're right. Go ahead, think about her all you want. Just keep her out of your head when you're in the arena. Okay?"

"Yeah, okay, whatever, out." I point to the door. She leaves, closing the door behind her.

I stare at the ceiling and replay the last few days of my life in my head. If I were in District 2, I wouldn't still have a pulse, and that would go on my fathers long criminal record. The district would probably let it slide, though, because it was for "my safety," as he would put it.

That's my dad.

I'm a bad person, but I wouldn't ever hurt my own child. that's just screwed up. So, I've always wanted to be a victor, because I could either die and never have to see him again, or I could win and live in the Victor's Village without him. I was okay with either way, but I preferred the Victor's Village.

Now, I don't have much of a choice.

I reach into my pocket, and my fingers close around the small leather bracelet and I pull it out of my pocket. I hold it up and stare at it. It has an engraving that's wearing away, but I can tell that it said _Alexus_ once. I could wear it on my wrist, but that would pretty much be asking for two specific heads on a silver platter, so I slide it back into my pocket and let myself drift into what might be the last time I ever sleep.

* * *

Don't forget to write a review! Thank you!


	8. Chapter 8

_Screw author's notes...Y'all wanna read!_

**Lexus POV**

I sit on my bed, staring at the wall where the Games are being projected. I could be downstairs watching with the party, but I don't want to be surrounded by trainers and other VIPs that I don't know. Cassia insisted on staying up here with me, and she's kind of one of my only friends, so what was I going to do? Dad insisted on Lavinia staying up here with me in case I needed anything, even though he knows if I need something, I'll get it myself. Right now he's actually at work, because in the Games he has to be there almost twenty-four seven, I'll visit him tomorrow, bring him that drink that keeps him going for days. I don't know what the ingredient is, but it works miracles.

I watch as Cato looks around the arena, figuring out which area he and his alliance want to claim. Glimmer, Marvel, and Clove appear to be doing the same thing, and they all seem to agree on the lake right across from the Cornucopia. I was in charge of what went in the Cornucopia, but everything had to get my father's 'okay' before it went into the arena, I did manage to slip in a few things that would mean nothing to the average person, but would be a good way to communicate with Cato. Just in case he forgets that he made a promise.

I hear a loud gong through the surround sound in my room. The gong seems to strike a nerve in Cato that makes him run faster than those Olympians the world used to have before Panem. He darts into the back of the Cornucopia and grabs the first sword he sees. He turns and starts slashing viciously. His eyes are glowing with this bloodthirsty glow that slightly scares me. I don't know what I had imagined he would do in the arena, but I knew that he wouldn't be the gentle Cato I got to know on the roof of the Training Center. I had imagined something slightly worse than the look he had when he was dismantling dummies.

Clove has gotten to one of the arrays of knives and starts throwing them in every single direction. I notice Katniss, from 12, still on her platform, trying to figure out what to do. Peeta's long gone already, but Katniss decides to run for an orange backpack. A kid gets there first, and I have to admit, I'm slightly worried 12 is going to die. I remember admiring her guts at the Reapings, and at the Tribute Parade, and pretty much everywhere else I saw her. Clove hits the kid in the back, and aims a knife at Katniss. She throws and hits her target, but her target is using a bright orange bag as a shield.

Genius.

Katniss gets up and runs as fast as she can into the trees, and the camera goes back to Cato and Marvel, who have started guarding the Cornucopia, killing anybody getting within spear reach of them. The little one, Rue, stands behind both of them with a small bag on her back. She's on top of a crate filled with food. She ponders for a moment what to do, and then slams the boys' heads together.

She runs as fast as she can to the trees, and instantly climbs one and starts hopping from branch to branch until the Cornucopia's camera can't see her anymore. The camera goes back down to Cato and Marvel, who lie uncomfortably on the ground, rubbing their heads. Thresh, the boy from 11, runs in between them, grabs everything he can carry, and runs toward a field of tall grass. A tree-camera shows Glimmer and Clove looking pleased with the amount of dead tributes outside of the Cornucopia, and go inside the golden horn to survey the damage in there. The boy from District Four lies on the ground of the Cornucopia, probably killed by Thresh. A few others who got into the Cornucopia and didn't get out are strewn around the large contraption.

Clove, Cato, Glimmer, and Marvel survey their minor injuries (scrapes, bite marks, etc.) to allow their fellow alliance member to give her district partner a last goodbye. The two of them seemed to be close, and very withdrawn. I never actually learned his name, and I probably won't learn her's. After a few minutes of locating and treating the cuts and bruises from the bloodbath, they haul out the dead from inside the Cornucopia. They all whip their heads around in time to see a tuft of bright red hair disappear into the trees with some supplies. Somebody screams as they're dragged out by a broken arm, apparently not quite dead. Cato quickly stabs her, and her cry is cut short. A moment later, the cannons start.

They make the floor in my room shake from the noise they create. With each cannon, the screen splits in twelve and we see each tributes reaction to each cannon. At the end, ten of the screen cuts disappear, and we see Katniss and Peeta, who are now Panem's "star-crossed lovers." Anybody with half of a brain cell can tell that currently, Katniss is extremely confused about love, and trying not to think much about it, because she needs to win, and she has to be able to kill Peeta if it comes down to it (which it probably won't). Peeta looks worried, because the last he saw of Katniss, she hadn't moved a muscle, and for all he knows, she's been dead for the past ten minutes. Katniss, however, seems to have blocked everybody else in the arena out of her mind, because she's just sifting through the backpack, looking around every few seconds to make sure she isn't being pursued.

The camera goes to the red-head from 5, I don't remember what her name is. She's sitting in a bush, trying to figure out her next move will be. Though her odds are fairly low, I think she's got a lot of ideas swimming through her head right now. After a few moments, the camera goes back to the higher district's alliance. They're all smiling devilishly at Peeta, who is clearly trying to get a good lie into their heads. I'm sure at this point, they'd buy it, too.

"Such a shame," Glimmer says, "I thought you'd last longer. I always thought you were a _smart _little boy." She smacks him with her bow.

"Glimmer, back off," Cato stops her from continuing. "He might be able to help us." His voice has this greedy tone in it, and I kind of curl up in a ball at the sound of it.

"What do you mean?" Glimmer asks, suddenly much more interested in Cato's idea than in the tribute near her.

"I mean, Lover Boy here might now where Fire Girl is. And I want her out."

"Oh, yeah," Clove agrees, "Do you know where she is, Lover Boy?" Her voice is slightly haunting, and just a little bit like a demented child. Kind of what I imagine a doll's voice would be, right before they would kill me.

Peeta nods slightly, "I don't know her exact location, but I can figure out where she is." He says. I can't tell if he's telling the truth or not.

"Well," Glimmer says, aggravated that the others are more strategic than her, "What do you guys think?"

Marvel gives a small nod before shrinking back into the shadows mischievously. The girl from District 4 barely nods. Clove sneers, and Cato smirks that devil-ish, haunting smirk he has. If he dies in there, that little curve of his lip is going to give me nightmares. Glimmer takes charge of the group, picking Peeta up. For such a feminie looking girl, she's got some serious upper body strength.

"You're gonna lead us to Fire Girl, and then you know what's gonna happen right?"

"You're gonna kill me?" Peeta guesses.

"Nope, that's for later. _You're _gonna kill _her._"

Suddenly, the rest of the group looks extremely pleased with Glimmer's idea. Peeta just nods like one of those 'children are to be seen and not heard' kind of boys.

"Alright, any good idea of where she might be?" Cato asks Peeta, handing him a spear, reinforcing the idea that Peeta will have to murder Katniss. Fun.

"Well, she likes to move east, it helps her peace of mind." Peeta informs that group. I don't think he's lying anymore, because he knows that he's on a short leash with Cato and Clove.

By midnight (when I decide it would be smart for me to get the party out and go to sleep), the group has gotten incredibly close to Katniss multiple times, and not noticed her watching them in a tree, choking at the sight of Peeta with them.

These Games are dangerous for those inside the Games, but my reactions to whatever happens in that arena could be much worse than death by Clove. Much, much worse.


	9. Chapter 9

**Cato POV**

I wake up and find a sword in my hand. For a moment, I don't know where I am or how I got here, and then it all hits me. My volunteering at the Reaping; the events in the Capitol; the ride in the hovercraft; the killings. I look around quickly and see Clove, who took watch last night, watching me.

"You okay?" she asks, barely above a whisper, so she doesn't wake the others.

"Yeah," I say, running a hand through my tangled hair. I get up and sit next to her by the fire. "What about you?"

"Never felt better," she says. Most people would think that she's telling the truth, but I know that she's lying. She holds out a package of food, "Hungry?"

"That's a question you already know the answer to," I tell her, taking the food from her. We're in the open, so there's nothing stopping anybody from killing us. Except the fact that Clove would take them down before they could even see all of us. Yesterday, in the beginning, we lost the boy from District 4, and his district partner (I saw no reason to learn their names) is still pretty upset about it, but she's still with us. So are Glimmer and Marvel.

We spent most of yesterday hunting down other tributes, which I wasn't too happy about, but I still led the rest of the group to a few kills. After that, we came back to the lake, cleaned up our weapons, ate, and then went to sleep. Arena life isn't all it's cracked up to be. In fact, it's a whole lot worse. I have a small problem with killing all of these people, because for all I know, they were scared little kids like me once. And their parents didn't force them to do things they didn't want to do, so they stayed scared and shy.

I wonder what Lexus thought of all the killing yesterday.

My hand instinctively goes to my pocket, where I had decided to sneak Lexus' bracelet into the arena through. It was so much easier than I thought it would be, which probably means that they know about it and are torturing Lexus right now. The thought makes me want to be sick, but sickness makes a person look weak, and looking weak means less sponsors, and less sponsors means death.

Glimmer starts to stir in her cocoon of blankets and jackets (including my windbreaker, though I have no idea how that happened). I steal my jacket back before she can fully awaken, and hopefully she won't know what happened. She looks around like she doesn't remember where she is, and then a second later, all the confusion from her is gone.

"Hey, when did you take your jacket back?" Glimmer asks slightly groggily.

"Hey, when did you take my jacket?" I imitate her, only I'm actually looking for an answer.

"After you fell asleep, I was freezing, didn't feel like being cold, took your jacket." She explains. I think she _wants_ me to punch her in the face. I throw a package of dried fruit at her. "What's this?" She asks, slightly disgusted.

"Breakfast," I smirk. I hear Clove snicker behind me as Glimmer opens the package and takes a careful bite out of a prune. I stifle a laugh at her facial expression. Marvel sits up just then, sees Glimmer's face, and bursts out laughing. I take that as permission to join him, and then the three out of four of us who are awake are laughing hysterically. The girl from 4, I feel like her name started with a _T_, wakes up.

"What's all the laughter for?" She asks, still half-asleep.

"Glimmer's being an idiot," I tell her.

"Nothing new," Marvel continues. Glimmer looks like she could kill someone.

I take that as a sign to get everyone started, "Enough hysteria, let's go hunt." I intentionally leave out the word _tributes_, because, well, I don't feel like saying it.

"Yeah, Cato's right." Clove backs me up. She gets up and kicks Peeta, I had completely forgotten about him. "Get up, Lover Boy. Time to find your girlfriend," she can be really intimidating sometimes.

"I'm up," Peeta says. His voice has no trace of fear, or anything else, for that matter. He knows what's happening, and he's okay with it. He's probably been awake for a few hours, just too overworked to get up.

Our little group looks though the forest, and I swear I see the same tuft of red hair multiple times, but the owner is moving to fast for me to kill. I also hear branches cracking above me. I can almost guarantee that the person with the poofy brown hair is the same person who gave me a bruise on the side of my head. Of course, she's in a tree, and Clove's the only person with a projectile and good aim, but she can't throw that high, or at that angle, so 11 gets away.

Sudden;y, I hear a crack, much louder than the crack of a person in a tree, it's the crack of a falling tree. I don't know how I know, I just do.  
I instinctively shove Clove, Glimmer, T-whatever-her-name-is, and Marvel in front of me. Peeta's already hit the ground running. By the time we're all running significantly fast, the flames are flicking at our heels. T-whatever-her-name-is starts falling behind after about ten minutes, and Clove and Glimmer's attempts to pull her back up are effortless. I hear her high-pitched scream as the flames consume her, and then, with another earsplitting crack, the flames disappear.

We all stop and start to catch our breath, and then Glimmer starts to wearily walk towards 4, who apparently hasn't died yet. The rest of us slowly follow her, careful to avoid patches of grass that are still slightly flaming.

The girl from 4's body is still smoking, half of her is charred to complete black, and her hair has been singed to almost nothing. As soon as we kneel around her, her chest takes a huge heave. Half a second later, there's a cannon. Tabithia (I remember her name as soon as she dies, how thoughtful of me) has a hovercraft on the way, and we all know it. After a few moments surrounding Tabithia's smoldering remains, we all stand and walk away, not looking back and she's taken back to the Capitol, where she'll be put in a wooden box and sent home.

I can't help but wonder what Lexus is doing right now.


	10. Chapter 10

**Lexus POV**

Sometimes I wonder how my dad deals with this stuff every day. I wonder how he can live with himself knowing he gets paid to make children kill each other. I wouldn't be able to deal with that, it would drive me insane. I almost went crazy when my dad forced me to Capitolize myself at least a little bit. He thought the Head Gamemaker's daughter should at least show some culturalization. I've never really forgiven him for making me get a tattoo and highlight the unnaturality in my eyes. They used to be brown and green, now they're brown and orange...that's scientifically wrong. Then again, when did the Capitol care about science?

"Lexus, could you get me one of those-,"

"I'm on it, Dad." I cut my father off before he even finishes his sentence. He hasn't slept since the night the Games began, and it's all thanks to whatever miracle ingredient is in this enhanced Capitol coffee crap.

"Thanks," my father says before turning his attention back to the twenty-four screens, more than half of which have already gone black. I turn and walk out to the small Gamemaker cafe and get my dad some coffee. I return and hand him the cup before looking up at the screens. The girl from 4 died half an hour ago, and Cato, Clove, Marvel, and Glimmer are trying to get Peeta out of some sort of shock.

"Can't we just leave him here and let him die?" Glimmer asks impatiently.

"No," Cato snaps. He's been a bit on edge since 4's death.

"Why not?" Glimmer whines, "I'm getting bored."

Clove punches her in the stomach, "Shut up," she growls before smacking Peeta across the face.

Cato starts pacing, "Clove," he warns, "now she's just gonna hold us back."

Glimmer whimpers in pain from her recent punch, and Clove smirks and runs a finger along one of her knives, "Not if I kill her now."

"Clove, shut up about it and let's keep moving."

"Fine," Clove grumbles. I turn my attention to a screen beginning to darken. I see the face of the boy from 11 before the screen goes completely black.

"Get a cannon!" My dad yells over the pandemonium that has sprouted from this death. Someone quickly sends a cannon into the arena and all of the tributes tense up even more.

Cato glares at the others in his alliance, "That was probably Fire Girl."

"So can I kill him, now?" Glimmer asks pleadingly, motioning to Peeta.

"No," Clove grumbles. They all look they would give anything to kill Peeta. Peeta, who is sitting right next to them, isn't even flinching from their verbal attacking and planning. And I'm resisting the urge to run home and bury myself under my blankets because the person I trusted my only memory of my mother with is running around screaming and murdering people. That just shows how strong I am.

"Dad," I start, tapping my father on the shoulder, "I'm gonna go home, 'kay?"

"Yeah, go ahead. Just try not to do anything stupid."

I nod and beginning walking toward the exit, hoping nobody notices that I'm shaking uncontrollably.

* * *

I sink against the doors leading to my room and put my head in my knees. Right now, I want to go somewhere. I don't care where, even the arena would be better than this place. Yes, everything except for the weapons and the death is fake. Yes, there is absolutely no happiness in there at all. But still, it's better than here. I would prefer the rubble in District 13 to this. Anything but the Capitol. Anything but the Capitol.

I find myself beginning to mutter nonsense, and I can't control the words coming out of my mouth. My hands are covering my ears, but it doesn't have any affect on me. Slowly, my tone begins to rise, and I'm screaming at the top of my lungs. I don't know why, and I can't hear anything anymore. I don't know what I'm saying, but I feel like it has something to do with Cato. I don't remember beginning to cry, but tears are uncontrollably pouring out of my eyes. My brain begins to jumble, and I can't tell one thought from the next. It's all becoming a huge jumble of thoughts. The only thing I can confirm right now is that I want Cato. I want him here, right now, with his arms around me. I want him to be the one to calm me down, and I want him to be the one that fixes everything. I need him here. He's the only thing that matters to me right now. I need Cato. If he dies in the arena, I think I might go completely crazy. I need him right now, but he's off who-knows-where doing who-knows-what. And I'm here. Alone. Without the only thing I love.

Cato.

* * *

**Cato POV**

I'm seriously considering curling into a ball and letting somebody kill me. Why shouldn't I, anyway? It's not like anybody's going to be happy to see me if I win. I've probably scared Lexus enough that she won't ever want to see me again. My parents will just grill me on everything I've done wrong here. I'm hopeless. Everything is hopeless. There's nothing for me to do anymore. I don't see a problem with losing anymore. I don't think anybody will miss me that much. I have other siblings who can win the Games, and bring honor to my family. There are other, nicer, calmer people who can make Lexus happy. If Clove wins, then District 2 will still have a victor, even if it isn't me. And if it isn't me, it _has_ to be her.

In all honesty, I don't _want_ to win anymore. I don't want to be here. I want to be anywhere but here.

But I can't let anybody know that. I have to be strong for the people in my alliance. I have to be strong for Lexus, even if she doesn't care anymore.

"Cato, are you okay?" Clove asks me in the middle of our walk back to our camp.

I look at her, I had completely forgotten anybody but me was in this arena. "Yeah," I run a hand through my hair, hoping she understands that I'm lying. "I'm fine."

She nods, and I know she gets it, "Good."

"Hey, Lover Boy." I grab Peeta by the back of his neck and pull him back to the rest of the group. "Seen anything yet?" I growl. I hate doing this. I hate it so much. There aren't even words to describe how much I hate torturing this kid. But I gotta do what I gotta do, and I want Flamehead gone.

Peeta shakes his head, "I didn't see anything, but she's probably going to be near water. We can't be the only people affected by the fire."

I let go of him, "Clove, climb that tree and look for water."

"On it, Cato." Clove quickly hops into a tree and looks around. "Found something," she yells before coming back down. "East about six hundred feet. And I think she's there."

"She better be." I mutter before leading the group in the direction of the water. I start kicking mud off my shoes as we get closer, and then I see her. She's looking over a burn near the water, putting handfuls of the crystalline water on it. She looks up at us when we're close and panic enters her eyes. I smile, putting as much menace as I can into it. She stumbles up and begins limping away. She's fast for a severely injured girl. We keep a pretty even pace, though, and we catch up to her just in time to see her climbing a tree.

Marvel starts muttering things that earn him a slap from Glimmer, before she joins him.

"Lover Boy. Kill. Now." I order, trying to keep myself joining Glimmer and Marvel. Peeta nods but is quickly knocked down by a water canteen thrown by Katniss. She's gonna be hard to kill. Fun.

"Flamehead!" I shout up to her.

"Yeah?" She yells back, acting as if we're having a completely normal conversation.

"Get down here!"

"I'm pretty comfortable up here!" She yells back.

"Does it look like I care?"

"Do I look interested?"

"The faster you get down here, the less painful your death will be!"

"You can't kill me if I'm up here, can you?"

I look to Glimmer, "Kill her, will you?"

"Yeah, I'm on it."

"No, no, Glimmer. We don't want you to break a nail or anything." Clove smirks, and an demon occupies her eye sockets as she begins to climb. Katniss just climbs higher. Clove keeps climbing, Katniss keeps climbing. Adrenaline is running through my veins faster than the trains in Capitol. I hear a scream, but it's not from Katniss. It's from Clove. I look up and see a spear protruding from her right shoulder. I turn and see an empty space where Peeta was three seconds ago. I watch as Clove starts to lose her grip on the tree. I catch her and set her down.

"I'll be back." I tell her before running off in Peeta's direction. I don't regret hurting him now. I wish I had hurt him more. My best friend is probably dying and it's all his fault. He is going to seriously regret that. Eventually, I find Peeta, who has slowed down a bit from exhaustion.

"Get it over with and go back to Clove." He says. His words take me back a bit.

"Really? You're just gonna let me kill you."

He shrugs, "Yeah, why not? What do I have to live for?"

I feel the exact same way about myself, but I'm not going to say that. I just nod a bit before deciding what to do. I really want him to suffer for what he did to Clove, but I don't have time for that, and he's going through exactly what I am right now. I stab him in the stomach, knee him where it _hurts_, and then I snap his neck. That's good enough. I run back as fast as I can to Clove. Peeta's cannon sounds, but I ignore it when I see Clove lying exactly where I left her. Almost all of the color has left her body, and she's taking short, raspy breaths.

"Cato," she chokes out when I sit next to her.

"Clove, I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention. I just-,"

"Cato, shut up." She says, smirking. I smile, seeing her fight her biggest battle, and being her snarky self while she's dying, it's comforting in a really depressing way.

"You can't leave me. Not now."

"Suck it up. You'll be fine, but you have to win."

"I will."

"Promise?"

"I can't promise any-,"

"Promise," she starts coughing, "please."

"I promise. Just don't die."

"One of us has to, Cato." Clove grabs my hand as tears start forming in her eyes, "I knew this was gonna happen eventually, just stay alive. Win. For me, and for you-know-who."

_Lexus._ "I will. I promise."

"One more thing."

"Yeah?"

Her voice is weak, and barely above a whisper now, "I love you."

Her eyes close, and I can almost feel the life leave her. I punch the tree she's leaning against, but I don't feel any pain. I don't feel anything right now except anger and confusion. Why did she have to die? Why couldn't it have been Glimmer? Why Clove? Why now, when I'm going through the worst state of mind I've ever been in? Why? It's not fair. I don't get it. She knew she was gonna die the whole time and she was okay with it? That isn't the Clove I met in the training center nine years ago. Nine years. Wow, it's been a long time.

Her cannon echos around in my brain twice as loud as it really is.

"Cato," Marvel puts a hand on my shoulder, trying to calm my rage probably, "Let's go so they can take her."

He and Glimmer practically drag me kicking and screaming away from Clove. I suddenly remember about Katniss being in the tree, but I don't really care about her anymore. I just want to know where Clove is right now. I want to know where the Capitol is taking her. I want to know where Lexus is right now, and what she's doing. My thoughts begin to run together in my rage, and the only thing I can confirm right now is that I want Lexus. I want her here, right now, with her arms around me. I want her to be the one to calm me down, and I want her to be the one that fixes everything. I need her here. She's the only thing that matters to me right now. I need Lexus. I'm going insane without her. I need her right now, but she's off in the Capitol doing who-knows-what. And I'm here. Alone. Without the only thing I love.

Lexus.

* * *

_So...it's been an EXTREMELY long time since my last update...sorry about that! I needed a break from this fandom, so I went to Harry Potter (True Love is Like a Golden Snitch) but I'm back to Hunger Games, and I'm gonna try to balance them all out a bit. Yeah...so it's been a while, so I'm sure you all have something to say...so review...tell me what you think of this chapter! I know I had a lot of sad stuff going on, and a few panic attacks...so yeah...I'll try to update quicker, and I'll write longer chapters. I promise! And I think I know what I want to do for the rest of the story, so I won't have any trouble with updates because of idea-loss. Sorry for making you wait so long! I've been thinking about what I wanted to do for a really long time, and I just haven't gotten around to updating. I'm gonna go start the next chapter now...if you're still reading this story and haven't lost all hope for me then thank you! Here is a virtual cake for being patient! iMuy gracias!  
_


	11. Chapter 11

**Lexus POV**

Clove's dead. And Peeta did it. Peeta. That sweet little baker from District 12 killed her. The thing that surprises me most, out of the whole day in the arena, is that Clove mentioned me in her last moments. I have to admit, I'm a bit scared now. My dad's not stupid. He can put two and two together, and that worries me. And Cato was running around demolishing things after Clove died, and I would have been, too, but at that point in time, my brain was still a bit messed up. I'm just lucky I was alone when I had that panic attack thing, because I can almost guarantee that I was screaming Cato's name.

The only thing I did for Clove's death was cry. She was my-well, I'm still not sure what to call him-she was Cato's best friend, and she was supportive of me and Cato's relationship. Well, I guess not really supportive, but she went along with it. I wasn't surprised when she told him that she loved him either. I saw that coming from the Tribute Parade. That feels like another lifetime.

"Lexus!" A voice calls from downstairs. I pull my head out of my pillow and roll out of my bed. I probably look like a mess, but who cares? I walk downstairs and see Cassia standing at the bottom of the staircase.

"Hey, Cassia." I mumble.

"You okay?" She looks concerned.

"Yeah," I nod, "I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, Cassia, I'm fine."

"Okay, so we need to talk."

Normally, this is the point in time where I would start nervously twisting my bracelet around, but Cato has that. "About what?" I try to hide my emotions from her.

Cassia starts coming up the stairs and drags me into my room.

"First of all," she starts, "have you been crying?"

I nod a little bit, "Yeah."

"Why?"

I shrug, hoping it looks like I'm being honest, "I don't know."

"Does it have something to do with Cato?"

I nod a little bit, "It's not a big deal, though. I don't want to talk about it."

"O...kay then. Well, he's what I needed to talk to you about anyway."

"Why?"

"Because, I'm not stupid."

"Why can't we talk about, I don't know, your hair or something?" I ask trying to change the subject, "Did you get a new shade in there?"

"I did! Thanks for noticing. A lot of people think it's just salmon, but it's really, like, salmon-gray."

I fall backwards onto my pillows. Cato's eyes are almost gray, and they're so much more interesting than a new shade of pink.

"_Anyway_," Cassia continues, "you need to get over Cato."

"If that were possible than I wouldn't have gotten involved with him in the first place."

"Well, you need to try. Even _if_ he does win, what's gonna happen then? He's gonna go live in the Victor's Village in 2, and you're gonna be a Gamemaker like your dad."

"No. That's not what's going to happen. _When_ he wins, he's gonna live in the Victor's Village, and I don't know what I'm gonna do. I know I'm not gonna be a Gamemaker, because I don't do that. I'm probably gonna move to 2 and whatever happens happens."

"Lexus, this isn't good for you. He's probably not gonna win, and if he does, he's not gonna be the same person."

"I don't care! Stop telling me what to do, and let me fix my own problems." Cassia takes a step back when she hears my tone. I really don't want to talk to her right now, and I really don't want to talk about Cato.

"Listen to me for thirty seconds, Lexus. He's not good for you. He's going to hurt you. I don't know when or how, but if you don't get over him, he's going to hurt you."

"And when he does that," I snap at her, "You can say 'I told you so' and we can both move on with our lives!"

"Calm down, okay? You just need to remember that the arena changes people. You saw what he did to Peeta! And he punched a freaking tree when Clove died."

"She was his best friend." I say, my voice lowering, "And she loved him." Cassia looks like she's about to say something, but I cut her off before she starts, "Weren't you the one who thought me and Cato would be cute together? Weren't you the one who got all giggly when you saw us kissing on the roof?"

"Yeah, but I-,"

"But nothing, Cassia. Get out of my house. When you're done trying to tell me what to do, feel free to come back."

Cassia kind of whimpers before getting up to leave. She stops halfway to my door and turns around, "Where's your bracelet, Lexus?"

"With Cato," I tell her. She sits down again.

"Why?"

"Because he promised he'd bring it back."

"Oh. On a scale of one to ten, how much do you care about him?"

I don't even have to think, "Thirty."

"I said to ten."

"I know."

"Okay. I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I just don't want to see you let your guard down once and get hurt because of it."

"Don't worry about it, Cassia. I can take care of myself, you know that."

"Yeah, I guess. You know where to find me if you need to talk." Cassia gets up, "See you later."

"Bye, Cassia."

She leaves and I jump onto my bed and turn my attention to the wall with the Games being projected onto them. The red-headed girl from 5 is jumping around behind Cato, Glimmer, and Marvel, and they don't notice. I watch as they all move towards the lake. Cato looks like he barely has his anger under control, and Glimmer and Marvel are giving him silence. The girl from 5 moves in the bushes next to them, silently. I notice Rue from 11 hopping above them in the trees. She would be dead by now if Clove were still here.

* * *

**Cato POV  
**

Clove is dead. There's no changing that now. And I'm pretty sure my hand is broken, too. It hurts a lot, but I don't really care right now.

That girl from 11 is running through the trees above me, and I can't help but think that she would be dead by now if Clove were still alive. Glimmer could probably try to shoot her, but I think that would be the worst way possible to tell a person that we're a dangerous alliance. I mean, seriously, that stupid girl from 1 couldn't shoot a target if it were two feet away from her.

I really wouldn't mind killing off the rest of the people in this 'alliance.' It's not like they're helpful or anything. They just cause trouble and death. I'm seriously considering killing Glimmer, but I don't think that would work very well with Marvel, and I'm too distracted right now for somebody who is actually going to require some concentration.

My best friend is dead. Dead and gone. Forever. I'll never see her face again. I'll never get weapon advice from her again. She's gone. Right before she died, she said she needed to tell me something, but I didn't really hear it. The words kind of went through one ear and out the other.

But now, they hit me, hard. _I love you._ She had barely choked those three words out. Eight letters. The concept that had been on my mind since the day I met Lexus. And Clove loved me. Why me? What's loveable about me? I'm a murderer. I'm probably going crazy. I'm just a machine for the Capitol. That's it. I wonder what people think of me, what goes through their minds when they see me impaling a person on a blade.

I would be deathly afraid of that person. I wouldn't show it, because that would make me look weak, but I would still be scared. And Clove fell in love with me. If she told me that she was in love with me a year ago, I probably would have laughed. Now, I just can't explain the feeling I have. Confusion, pain, regret, guilt. All of that, plus something else that I can't quite put my finger on. But it doesn't matter anymore, because Clove is dead, and there's no changing that now.

The lake begins to come into view, and I see a scared little kid standing in the middle of the camp. Exactly where we left him when we went "hunting". This scrawny, frightened child's death is coming soon, but he's a useful kid to have guarding the camp. He can't do much, but if he's with us, then he's a person to be afraid of.

"Hey, 3!" I shout across the distance between us and the camp. He turns to look at us, a confused expression crossing his face when he notices that we were missing a member.

"Yeah? Hey, where's Clove?"

I have an extreme craving to see him with a sword sticking out of his back, but I wasn't gonna do that yet.

"She's gone. You can join her if you want." I say, starting to unsheathe my sword. He opens his mouth to say something, but only manages a small whimper as my sword impales him. I'm a monster. And I don't care anymore. Lexus probably doesn't care about me anymore, Clove's dead, and my sanity left a while ago, so why should I try to fix anything?

A cannon sounds through the arena. I walk over to our campfire and grab some dried fruit from the pile. Glimmer and Marvel are staring at me with their mouths hanging open.

"What?" I ask, even though I know the answer.

"You just-and he-and you-"

"I get it." I cut off their rambling quickly. They nod and sit down (noticeably far away from me) and start eating. I should probably get rid of them soon. I'm too tired right now, I'll do it later.

A hovercraft quickly removes 3's body from the arena.

"You guys should go to sleep," Glimmer says after a long silence.

"I'm not tired." I tell her. I'm partially being honest. Really, I just know that she wants to kill me tonight. "You and Marvel should go to sleep."

"That's okay," Marvel says, "you've probably got a lot on your mind anyway. You should go to sleep."

"I have an idea!" Glimmer screeches. Her voice is starting to get annoying. "How about two of us take watch at once? Then we can each get sleep."

"Yeah...okay." Marvel says. Glimmer and I both look at him, telling him to go to sleep without speaking. He obeys and lays down.

Ten minutes later, when he looks like a rock, Glimmer starts talking.

"Cato, are you okay?"

I nod. Why is she asking that question? That's a stupid question. Of course I'm okay. It's not like I killed a person after I watched my best friend die. Oh, wait...

"Are you sure?" She persists.

"Yeah, Glimmer. I'm fine." I lie. There are a lot of _not fine_ things about me right now. I'm going insane without Lexus. My best friend is dead. I've killed two people in the last twenty minutes just because I was angry. That's a lot of problems.

"Is it her?" Glimmer asks me. I'm not sure if she's talking about Lexus or Clove, seeing as she is aware of both relationships. I nod slightly, because I can almost guarantee that we're on camera right now. And Lexus is probably seeing this. I miss her so much. For some reason, I suddenly remember that her bracelet is in my pocket. I completely forgot about that. I slide my hand into my pocket and start rubbing the bracelet in between my fingers. I ran my fingers along the part of the leather that had Lexus' name etched into it.

"And you're sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, Glimmer. I'm fine." I lie. In all honesty, I'm falling apart, but I see no reason to let my sponsors know that. Everything I do these days is for my sponsors. Everything I've done in this arena has been for the sponsors, and I think I'm done with that. I don't care about sponsors. They don't control me.

They're not in charge anymore.

* * *

_Yay! New chapter! Review, review, review...thank you! And since I'm not entirely sure who is still reading this story at this point...I'm just going to give a shout out to everyone who is still with me. Thank you! _


	12. AN

Hey, readers! Sorry I haven't updated in a while! I've run into a bit of a writing dilemma...I have absolutely no idea what should happen next in the story.

So...I want you wonderful readers out there to help me! PM me any ideas you have about what should happen next in the story, and I'll use as many as ideas as I can between now and the end. Thank you!

-klickmaster92


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